Red Wings

Wings look to start fast in 2010-11

bud — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:53:40 +0000

By Bud L. Ellis

The Detroit Red Wings begin the 2010-11 season with six of their first nine games at home. The Wings hope that will jump-start a better early season than one year ago.

Last season, the Wings struggled mightily at times through the first four months of the season. Only thanks to a great surge in March and April – during which Detroit went 16-3-2 – did the long-standing traditional powerhouse make the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Detroit finished fifth in the Western Conference thanks to that late-season push, eventually losing to San Jose in the second round of the playoffs after knocking off Phoenix in round one.

There is plenty of firepower, as always, in Detroit. Both of last year’s leading scorers, Selke Trophy winner Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, return after 70-point seasons. In goal, the Wings found a keeper last season in rookie Jimmy Howard.

The new season begins at home Oct. 8 against Anaheim.

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Red Wings advance with Game 7 throttling of Coyotes

Raj Sethi — Sun, 02 May 2010 20:06:52 +0000

The Detroit Red Wings let the opportunity to close out the Phoenix Coyotes slip through their grasp in Game 6.

They didn’t repeat the mistake in Game 7.

The 2009 Stanley Cup runners-up overwhelmed the hosts, advancing to the second round with a 6-1 win. Pavel Datsyuk found the back of the net twice in less than two minutes in a second-period outburst to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish.

Detroit scored four unanswered after Phoenix closed the game to 2-1. Nicklas Lindstrom accounted for two of the tallies, scoring twice on the power play. Jimmy Howard was excellent in net, earning the victory by making 32 saves on 33 shots.

The Red Wings face the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in the second round.

Red Wings can’t close out Coyotes, head back to Phoenix for Game 7

Raj Sethi — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:38:17 +0000

The Phoenix Coyotes avoided elimination on Sunday, overwhelming the host Detroit Red Wings to force Game 7 with a 5-2 win. The series heads back to Phoenix for the deciding game on Tuesday night.

The Coyotes got off to a great start, scoring short-handed four minutes into the game. But the second period was the decisive one in this contest; Phoenix tallied three goals in the frame, shocking a Detroit team that had dictated pace and peppered shots at will to no avail. The Coyotes eventually built a 5-1 advantage before surrendering a goal late in the game.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 saves for Phoenix, which also got goals from five different players. Lori Korpikoski, Mathieu Schneider, Radim Vrbata, Wojtek Wolski and Taylor Pratt all found the back of the net.

Brad Stuart and Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard made 24 saves, but the Coyotes offense made life difficult for the young netminder with their opportunistic play.